All foreign businesses view the Saudi market favorably and aim to participate in the purchase or sale of military equipment
During the Budget 2023 forum held in December this year, Saudi Arabia envisaged the future of its military industry.
Eng. Ahmed Al-Ohali, Governor of General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), emphasized that the Kingdom’s military industries sector is experiencing rapid expansion and qualitative change, as there were only five national facilities when the authority was founded. However, today it has reached more than 265 licenses until the end of November of this year.
As of right now, there are more than 265 licenses for establishments. By the end of November 2022, there will be 156 establishments, totaling SR40 billion in expected investment and employing 21,000 people, including Saudis.
According to him, the authority has received more than 400 requests and contracts totaling SR74,065,389,626 from the ministries of “Defense, Interior, State Security, Royal Guard, National Guard, and General Intelligence” since its establishment until the end of November 2022.
Additionally, 318 applications and contracts totaling SR56,971,162,364 in value have been submitted to the Authority since it was founded.
Al-Ohali pointed out that while 24 projects totaling SR2,297,196,246 were submitted to GAMI, the number of programs received by GAMI from its beginning through November 2022 amounted to 53 programs totaling SR3,610,884,409.
The percentage of possible savings on the overall projects is calculated (after floating by 3.46% with a total sum of SR1.8 billion), he continued, adding that the number of contracts and armament projects that have been evaluated since the foundation of GAMI to date amounted to 327 projects.
Eng. Walid Abukhaled, CEO of Saudi Company for Military Industries (SAMI) said that, the success of the autonomous military industries, is largely determined by the military industries and their localization, which are key components of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
He continued by saying that all foreign businesses view the Saudi market favorably and aim to participate in the purchase or sale of military equipment as well as the localization of industries in the Kingdom.
He emphasized that the company’s strategy is based on GAMI’s vision, stating that unmanned systems, such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and boats without captains, represent the future of the military industries and that these technologies are currently being processed.
According to Eng. Abukhaled, SAMI’s activities began in January 2018 with the hiring of the first CEO, and over the course of the last five years, SAMI has formed partnerships with 12 foreign businesses that are among the top 20 worldwide corporations.
According to him, SAMI is already among the top 100 military businesses in the world which is as a result of the work done over the last five years. By 2030, SAMI hopes to rank among the top 25.
